BEIRUT - Hadsel LP (Indie Exclusive Icebreaker Vinyl)

Label: Pompeii

Hadsel is the first new full-length record since Beirut's 2019 release, Gallipoli, and the first on Zach Condon's own label, Pompeii Records. Recorded in the Norwegian island of Hadsel shortly after a physical and mental break forced Condon to cancel his 2019 tour, Condon was looking for a place to recover after being left in a state of shock and self-doubt.

Working in isolation, Condon explains, 'I was lost in a trance, stumbling blindly through my own mental collapse that I had been pushing aside since I was a teenager. It came and rang me like a bell. I was left agonising many things past and present while the beauty of the nature, the northern lights and fearsome storms played an awesome show around me. I'd like to believe that scenery is somehow present in the music.'

The resulting collection of songs beautifully reflect that vulnerability, sense of self-determination and belief that after collapse, one can learn to manage on their own again.